SKY gears up for T20 World Cup

Suryakumar Yadav believes adapting to Australian conditions will be key to a good ICC Men's T20 World Cup for India, as they arrived for their first practice session Down Under.

Suryakumar, known as SKY for his initials, has risen up the ranks in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batting, inching closer to taking the crown from Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan as they stand 16 rating points apart.

The number two-ranked batter has been in fine touch, amassing 801 runs in 23 matches this year at an average of 40.05. He also finished as India's highest scorer in the recently concluded India vs South Africa T20I series with 119 runs which included two half-centuries. Yadav's exploits with the bat will heavily influence India's fate in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Playing his second T20 World Cup, Yadav expressed that despite the nervousness, he is keen on following his routine and adapting to the conditions.

"I was really looking forward to coming here and attending the first practice session, going on the ground, having a run and seeing how it is like here. The first net session was really amazing. I just wanted to see how the pace of the wicket is, and how the bounce is, so, obviously starting a little slow. 

There were butterflies and excitement but at the same time, one has to acclimatise to the atmosphere and also, following my routine is very important." 

Yadav also believes that the big dimensions of the grounds will influence strategies and gameplan that they will deploy to score runs in Australia.

"During the practice, the bounce and pace of the wicket, including the dimensions of the ground which many have said are huge, preparing a game plan is important on how to score runs. There are slightly cooler winds but it seems like India. During the daytime, the weather is beautiful and I am really looking forward to it."

India will play two warm-up games, the first against Australia on October 17 in Brisbane followed by a match against New Zealand on 19 October in the same venue. They kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 23 October in Melbourne.